Of Laws and Love
by WhatComesFromWithin
Summary: Percy had made mistakes. He had already chosen his pride over his family. But did that mean he didn't still love his family? No. No, it did not.


**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments): **

**Criminology—Task 2: Conduct Through Research— Write about researching a person or family for whatever reason.**

**Word Count: 1896**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Harry Potter universe. All rights go to J. K. Rowling.**

"Stay here for just a moment, Percy. I have to talk to Umbridge about this. I'll give you your next assignment when I come back. I won't be but a minute."

"Of course, Minister."

Percy Weasley watched as Pius Thicknesse left the office. Listening intently, Percy waited until he was sure the minister had turned the corner and disappeared down the next hall. He snapped into action immediately and rushed to the desk in the center of the office. Percy pulled open the top drawer and started leafing through all the files it contained.

"C'mon," he murmured, "please, _please_ don't be—"

Percy stopped when a particular name caught his eye. _Weasley, Charlie_. He tugged the file out of the drawer and flipped it open. He read the words as quickly as he could, simultaneously straining his ears for the sound of the faintest footsteps. As far as Percy could tell, Charlie was still in Romania, and he wasn't thinking about coming back home any time soon. Or at least, not that the Ministry was aware of.

Percy relaxed slightly. From the minimal amount of information in the file, he could tell that Charlie wasn't being paid too much mind.

Charlie was safe.

And, hopefully, he would stay that way.

* * *

"_Look, Percy! This one is a Romanian Longhorn. They use their horns to stab their prey. Aren't they cool?"_

"_Yeah!" Percy looked at the picture Charlie was pointing at. He'd bought a book as soon as he came home from Hogwarts that year about dragons. He was telling Percy about all the different dragon breeds he had learned about in Care of Magical Creatures. Soon, Percy would be there learning right alongside him. But for now, reading with his older brother was enough._

"_I'm going to be working with dragons one day," Charlie announced proudly. _

_Percy perked up. "Really?!"_

"_Yup." Charlie grinned. "I'll get to see Romanian Longhorns, Hungarian Horntails, Norwegian Ridgebacks, Common Welsh Greens, and even Peruvian Vipertooths!"_

"_But you said those eat humans, Charlie! You can't go near them!"_

_Charlie laughed and knocked his shoulder into Percy's. "I'll be okay, Perce. I promise."_

* * *

_Name: Weasley, Ginerva_

_Sixth year Hogwarts student_

_Status: Under surveillance. No known contact with Harry Potter since William Weasley and Fleur Delacour's marriage._

Percy pursed his lips. She was still under watch, then. He'd hoped that maybe less attention would be paid to her after so long. Still, he supposed it was too much to hope that she hadn't been causing _any_ trouble at school this year. With the way Hogwarts was being run, she was bound to.

Percy would try to start checking her records periodically. Weekly, maybe. He didn't want to miss anything important.

* * *

"_Ginny, you have to swear to me that you won't tell the others about Penelope!"_

_She was giggling. He couldn't believe that Ginny, of all people, was the one to walk in on him and Penelope. He'd been so careful! But clearly not quite careful enough. _

"_Why not?" she asked, laughing. _

_Percy glanced at the ground in embarrassment, and then met her eyes. "I don't want to be teased about it," he admitted._

_Her eyes lost their merry glint. He could tell that she understood this, at least. _

_Ginny stared at Percy for a minute, and then she caved. "Fine," she groaned. "I won't tell anyone."_

_Percy felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. "Thanks, Ginny."_

_She rolled her eyes in response. A thought seemed to occur to her, and an impish grin overtook her features. "I bet I'll have had a boyfriend far before I reach your age," she taunted._

"_No, you won't," Percy said firmly. "You will never have a boyfriend, Gin. Fred, George, Ron, Bill, Charlie, and I will make sure of it."_

"_Hey," she pouted. _

_Percy laughed and reached over to ruffle her hair. "Sorry, but that's just the way it is."_

* * *

"—Wizard Wheezes in Diagon Alley. The owners and their family have a strong affiliation with Potter. He may try to take refuge there."

Percy stopped before he reached the corner, and then he took a silent step back so that the new "Aurors" wouldn't see his shadow. He listened intently as they continued their conversation.

"We'll take shifts standing guard around the store. Potter won't get through us."

"Make sure you blend in. We don't want them to suspect anything."

"No one will suspect any of us. Do you have any additional information?"

"It's all in the file in my office. I'll show you after our debriefing."

Percy heard them walk away, presumably to their debriefing. He needed to find that file. Luckily, he happened to know where that office was. Thanking the universe that he didn't have to be anywhere for the next fifteen minutes, Percy made his way through the Ministry halls until he reached his destination. He tried the door handle, but it was locked, so he whispered, "_Alohomora_," under his breath. The door opened with a click, and Percy stepped inside.

He leafed through the papers scattered on the desk, being very careful to lay them down again exactly as they had been. Percy kept glancing at the watch on his wrist, feeling panic rise within him. He only had six minutes until he had to leave, and he had no idea when the Aurors he had overheard would be done with their debriefing.

Just as he was about to give up and leave to try again another day, he spotted it. He picked it up and read the contents hurriedly.

_Fred and George Weasley—owners of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, number ninety-three, Diagon Alley_

Most of what the file said wasn't anything new to Percy—he'd checked up on files of Fred and George before. This one mostly focused on what positions the Aurors would be stationed at to watch for Harry. Thankfully, Fred and George didn't seem to be their biggest priority.

Quickly replacing the file, Percy slipped out into the empty hallway and walked toward the minister's office.

* * *

"_I assure you, Mr. Filch, I didn't see anyone out during my rounds tonight. One of the sixth years probably made that potion in class and simply misplaced it, or it fell out of their bag." _

_Filch narrowed his eyes at Percy. "Perhaps," he grudgingly acquiesced. "But, Mr. Weasley, if you see anyone out of bed, you are to report them immediately, regardless of the identities of the perpetrators."_

"_Of course."_

_Filch walked away. Once Percy was sure he was out of hearing distance, he flung open the door to the abandoned classroom. Or at least, it was mostly abandoned. _

"_I'm not protecting the two of you again," he hissed. "This is the fifth time this week that I've caught you out of bed! Can't your pranks wait until the morning?"_

_George shook his head solemnly. "No can do, Perce. This one is going to be epic, and we need the cover of night to set it up."_

"_Besides," Fred said lightly, "you love us too much to turn us in to Filch, not unless we were being obvious."_

_Percy ignored him, instead picking up the potion flask lying on the ground. "I should confiscate this," he said seriously. "Love potions never mean anything but trouble. Who were you planning on using this on, anyway?"_

_The twins glanced at each other. "Uh, no one," George said. "That one actually just fell out of my robe pocket."_

"_That really doesn't help to prove your innocence, George."_

"_We're not using that on anyone," Fred promised, "at least, not tonight."_

_He held out his hand for the love potion, and, sighing, Percy handed it over. _

"_Don't let me catch you again."_

_George winked. "We won't."_

* * *

He wished he had gone to the wedding. It really wouldn't have made his own stance on the war seem weaker or less valid. People would have seen that he was supporting his brother, not that he'd caved to his family's views. He only wished he had been able to see that back then.

Bill looked very handsome in the photo, and Percy's sister-in-law was undoubtedly gorgeous. He felt both sad and happy as he gazed at their beaming faces, and he cursed his pride and arrogance. He could have been a part of that day, but he'd chosen his job over his family, again. He missed his chance.

There really wasn't much listed on Bill's file. His occupation, birth date, and schooling records were all there, but there wasn't an address. No one was paying very much attention to him. Percy could only hope that he continued to play it safe.

He put the file where it belonged and, done with Bill's weekly check-in, left to fill out his paperwork.

* * *

"_Hey, Percy, it's okay! Just a scrape."_

"_It stings, Bill!"_

"_I know," Bill said gently. "But it'll heal before you know it. C'mon, let's get you inside."_

_Bill carried him back inside and sat him on the edge of the bathtub. He grabbed a disinfecting potion from the cabinet and poured a couple drops onto Percy's knee. He tensed._

_After the potion had had time to soak in, Bill grabbed a plaster and pressed it onto Percy's knee. "There." Bill sat back on his heels. "All done."_

"_I can't believe I crashed," Percy complained. "_You _never crash your broomstick, Bill."_

_Bill shrugged it off. "I've had lots more practice than you have, though," he pointed out. "Besides, everyone falls and crashes every once in a while. It's how we're able to get back up and start again."_

"_I guess."_

_Bill smirked. "Trust me, Percy. It'll be okay."_

* * *

Percy nearly dropped Ron's file. This couldn't be happening. They'd been found? _Ron_ had been found?! Unease wormed its way into Percy's stomach. How long ago had this been updated? It was a little over a week ago that Percy had last been able to check this file; had something terrible already happened to Ron?

For once not caring who saw him, Percy rushed from the minister's office, file fluttering to the ground behind him.

He had to get in contact with Aberforth. He had to find out where his brother was, had to know that he was safe.

Percy was choosing his family this time. And he would choose his family forevermore.

* * *

"_Ugh!_ _This is impossible! Who even invented Transfiguration? I swear, McGonagall's trying to kill me."_

"_Transfiguration's not that bad," Percy said from where he was seated at the opposite end of the table from his brother. _

_Ron scowled. "Easy for you to say. You have top marks in every class."_

_Percy stood up and walked over to Ron. He leaned over his shoulder and read the question Ron was having a difficult time answering. Then he read what his brother's response was. "Ah, I see. You're making a common mistake. You mixed up these two spells. That's why the effects of the spell and its background aren't making sense together."_

_Ron blinked at the paper as if he was seeing it for the very first time. "Oh." He cleared his throat. "Um, thanks, Percy."_

_Percy suppressed a small laugh. "No problem, Ron."_

_He started to walk towards the stairs so he could go start on his own summer assignments, but Ron's voice stopped him in his tracks. _

"_I mean it, Percy. Thank you, for everything."_

_A smile spread across Percy's face. "Anytime."_


End file.
